Between 485 & 705 SQ/FT Bob Heine's Auto Emporium

[Grizz1963]

Good deal on servicing the wheels and torquing up.

My friend Kevin lost a brand new wheel on his T35 VW Camper after fitting new larger after market units, he somehow missed one front wheel when doing them up, cost him a lot of replace,ent and repair money, interestingly, he is possibly one of the most meticulous guys I know.goes to show, can happen to all of us. I lost a wheel off the Grizz Pod Teardrop on the motorway at speeds exceeding the posted legal limit, in the middle lane when the wheel adaptor came loose and lest the wheel 500 miles after we left home, on the return journey. Managed to recover the wheel, refit it on the hard shoulder and carry on home another 150 miles quite shaken and given a big wake up call. Thankfully the trailer skidded on a steel piece under its chassis till we stopped, rather than tear the wood and body up. (First time I have confessed this in public since it happening in August 2010 )

Anyway, the crumbling bump stops I guess are witness to modern engineering, what we gain in function and form, we lose in engineered obsolescence and product specific degradation.

 

[oldironfarmer]

It's all where you live. Since I park on gravel i would have never seen the oil cooler leak. I'll be watching to see how much trouble the 1/2" to 5/8" turns out to be.

Nice work, but that bent wheel is not perfect. And if you just discard it, some unknowing soul may use it and cause them trouble. You wouldn't want that. It is best to do something with it which renders it unusable. Would be really great to not only render it unusable but actually find someone who could make something out of it.

 

[njhoudini]

Glad to hear you got your phone sorted out. Download the Harbor Freight app. The coupons are great. I haven't done it myself, but HF also has a membership program, but I don't think I purchase enough of their stock yet to justify paying for the membership.

Good to see you're finding homes for your new tools. Wouldn't want any of them to run away.

I'm pretty sure Andy wants you to chop up the wheel. I wonder how many cuts it would take to get it to fit in a USPS flat rate box?

 

[HOTFR8]

Simon, the battery from the '72 Corvette is available but because it isn't on wheels, I go for the lightweight solution.

The other option I have is a battery charger power supply unit with a cigarette socket built into it.

For smaller items I have one of these from ARB.

I have been considering making a hand truck type trolley for the battery I have although if needed I can just move it on the hand truck I have.

 

[Bob Heine]

Gee, Bob, when they recommended buying stock in Harbor Freight, I don't think they meant inventory. Just kidding, for things that don't get continuous use, a lot of their stuff is an excellent value.

I replaced 3 small sockets I had lost at work with new ones from Matco Tools. For what I paid, I could have gotten more than 3 complete SETS from HF containing each one I replaced and still had money left over ( but I'm kind of partial to getting the best I can for my work toolbox inventory). However with having to changeover all the good parts from my wrecked truck to the new one, I got tired of pulling 50# of tools from work and hauling them back and forth whenever I thought I may have a moment to work on the trucks, so I did the 20% off coupon thing over 5 days and got a ton of sockets and wrenches to keep at home and spend less than $100. Bad news now, I need to get an upper toolbox to set on top of the old SnapOn roller cab I keep at home, so it looks like I'll be visiting HF again soon. Having one open up 2 miles from home is not necessarily a good thing, LOL.

Ric, thanks for stopping by. I don't make any money with my tools but I do save money doing my own repairs/projects. I completely understand the need for professional grade tools when you are making a living with them.

Twenty years ago when I was working as a consultant for AOL I had to be able to print out 1,600 page drafts of technical manuals and overnight Fedex them to my customer. I bought a $2,000 laser printer and a $1,000 color scanner and four computers to get the work done. Probably had $20,000 worth of hardware and software but it meant I could meet the deadlines and get paid.

I bought some Ernst socket organizers and the empty pegs made me twitchy so I ordered some individual sockets to fill the gaps. I inadvertently ordered a deep 11mm 1/2" socket when I needed the shallow (my mistake). Turns out a regular price 10-piece set from Harbor Freight was $1.05 more than ordering that one socket (with shipping) from Zoro. Now I have 9 sockets for the workshop toolchest. The workshop sockets are kept on those $0.99 HF metal clip racks that don't show missing sizes so I twitch a lot less.

 

[Bob Heine]

Bob well done on the Cruiser service.

I have never seen an oil cooler/filter arrangement like that..

Steve, thank you -- it's a start.

That oil cooler was a new one to me as well. The normally aspirated engine has no cooler and the oil filter screws onto the housing with a shorter ******.

 

[Bob Heine]

Good deal on servicing the wheels and torquing up.

My friend Kevin lost a brand new wheel on his T35 VW Camper after fitting new larger after market units, he somehow missed one front wheel when doing them up, cost him a lot of replace,ent and repair money, interestingly, he is possibly one of the most meticulous guys I know.goes to show, can happen to all of us. I lost a wheel off the Grizz Pod Teardrop on the motorway at speeds exceeding the posted legal limit, in the middle lane when the wheel adaptor came loose and lest the wheel 500 miles after we left home, on the return journey. Managed to recover the wheel, refit it on the hard shoulder and carry on home another 150 miles quite shaken and given a big wake up call. Thankfully the trailer skidded on a steel piece under its chassis till we stopped, rather than tear the wood and body up. (First time I have confessed this in public since it happening in August 2010 )

Anyway, the crumbling bump stops I guess are witness to modern engineering, what we gain in function and form, we lose in engineered obsolescence and product specific degradation.

Rian, I feel better now.

Heading home in 1974 after a two week vacation living on our 19-foot speedboat (two adults & two children) we were heading home Saturday night. After crossing a rather large suspension bridge (Throgs Neck Bridge in New York) I was picking up speed to merge onto an interstate highway. Had to slow down a little to merge (still well above the speed limit) when a wheel and tire suddenly appeared next to my door -- and I recognized it was one of the four on our tandem axle boat trailer.

Retrieved the wheel from the median and found the six holes hogged out enough to slip over the lug nuts that were still on the axle. We made our way to a motel on the side of a mountain (it was visible from the scene). Made it to the top and realized I couldn't turn around so I backed the mess down the hill, turned around and backed it up the hill. Next morning we crawled 20 miles to the Tarrytown yacht club and showed our New Hamburg Yacht Club birgee (flag) to the attendant. They launched my boat for free, using a sling meant for 90-foot yachts. I drove the boat the 60 miles up the river with my son while my wife drove the GTO and 3-wheel trailer home. The boat had a 302 Ford V8 Mercruiser I/O so I averaged 55 mph on the trip home and got to the yacht club a half-hour before Liane.

The courtesy thing between yacht clubs is weird because the dues to belong to the New Hamburg Yacht Club were $20 a year (plus 16-hours of labor repairing, putting in and taking out the docks each boating season). That one launch at the Tarrytown Yacht Club probably would have cost five times my annual dues to the NHYC. The most bizarre part was that the "Yacht" in our club name referred to the racing ice yachts that plied the Hudson in the 19th century winters. Club amenities included an outbuilding with men and ladies rooms, a kitchenette, meeting room and a 25-cent Coke machine stocked with bottled beer.

Scoured the junkyards for a 6-lug rim with no luck. My neighbor found a 6-lug wheel rim with a bald tire floating in the Hudson River while fishing in his Johnboat. With the algae and slime scrubbed off, the rim was a perfect fit, in great shape and only needed a coat of black paint to match the other three rims. Once again my good luck surprised me.

That bumpstop material is foam and apparently has something less than a 14 year service life. The oil cooler is aluminum but obviously has a similar service life.

 

[Bob Heine]

It's all where you live. Since I park on gravel i would have never seen the oil cooler leak. I'll be watching to see how much trouble the 1/2" to 5/8" turns out to be.

Nice work, but that bent wheel is not perfect. And if you just discard it, some unknowing soul may use it and cause them trouble. You wouldn't want that. It is best to do something with it which renders it unusable. Would be really great to not only render it unusable but actually find someone who could make something out of it.

Andy, you should put a piece of cardboard on the gravel where you park your vehicles. It will make you feel better and when the cardboard blows away you can assume the leak is gone as well. I may have to try the video capability on my camera so I can share the quality time. Probably won't include a sound track because that would be so sad.

I plan to take that wheel off more frequently so I can monitor the crisis. I'll contact my friend and have him go fishing for a perfect PT Cruiser rim (with bald tire) on the Hudson River. As soon as he finds one I'll see about flattening the bent one so it fits in a Large Flat-Rate box. At that point I'll ask around if anyone could use some scrap aluminum. If there's room in the box I'll throw in a brass pineapple.

 

[Bob Heine]

Glad to hear you got your phone sorted out. Download the Harbor Freight app. The coupons are great. I haven't done it myself, but HF also has a membership program, but I don't think I purchase enough of their stock yet to justify paying for the membership.

Good to see you're finding homes for your new tools. Wouldn't want any of them to run away.

I'm pretty sure Andy wants you to chop up the wheel. I wonder how many cuts it would take to get it to fit in a USPS flat rate box?

Eugene, I downloaded the Harbor Freight app so I'm ready to go to the store (the phone will be forgotten at home). I actually joined their club many years ago. It might be a great deal for some people but I don't buy stuff just because it's on sale. Over the course of a year I bought one item from the "exclusive" Inside Track Club. It was a complete waste of $29.99 for me.

My tools are still running away. One of the free Harbor Freight flashlights has gone AWOL. Wish I could get my money back on it.

Oh, you're right, Andy might want that wheel to melt down into hammers and trivets. I'll see if my chainsaw will handle the job.

 

[rixtrix1]

Bob, our V-10 Ford trucks at work use a similar oil cooler and they fail fairly often, as the metal is extremely thin.

I'm just happy I bought 99% of my professional tools 35-40 years ago, when SnapOn offered cheaper interest rates than banks or finance companies and a full set was priced less than the sum of each individual wrench. That's gone and has been for decades I don't know how young mechanics afford tools today when they advertise like:" Only $45/week..... for 674 weeks!" 1/2" digital, torque angle wrench is over $700!
I don't mind using cheap tools at home, as they may only get used 3-4 time a year, if that. Like you. it's more important to have enough tools at home to fit all my needs rather than whose name is on them , and with the advent of name brand tools being made overseas, why buy the name?

 

[Bob Heine]

The other option I have is a battery charger power supply unit with a cigarette socket built into it.

For smaller items I have one of these from ARB.

I have been considering making a hand truck type trolley for the battery I have although if needed I can just move it on the hand truck I have.

Simon, my power supply is a lot like that first one and it works great. I soldered together one like your second one and discovered those bricks won't power an air pump. Did a little Googling and discovered it isn't meant for that high a power demand.

I do have a heavy old jump box with a 12v rechargeable battery in it. Every time I go to use it, it needs to be charged. It has a cigarette lighter outlet so the air pump plugs right in and it is a stand-alone source of power so I don't have to get out an extension cord.

I used to carry jumper cables but The Fugitive fans refused to stop to help a one-armed man stuck on the side of the road with hatchet in hand. That jump box was a better solution as long as I kept it charged up. More recently I have been equipping my cars with lithium-ion jump boxes that are lightweight and take up very little room. The one in the Cadillac fits in the car's battery compartment in the trunk. Even if I forget I have it, opening the battery door to see what's wrong -- reminds me.

 

[Bob Heine]

Bob, our V-10 Ford trucks at work use a similar oil cooler and they fail fairly often, as the metal is extremely thin.

I'm just happy I bought 99% of my professional tools 35-40 years ago, when SnapOn offered cheaper interest rates than banks or finance companies and a full set was priced less than the sum of each individual wrench. That's gone and has been for decades I don't know how young mechanics afford tools today when they advertise like:" Only $45/week..... for 674 weeks!" 1/2" digital, torque angle wrench is over $700!
I don't mind using cheap tools at home, as they may only get used 3-4 time a year, if that. Like you. it's more important to have enough tools at home to fit all my needs rather than whose name is on them , and with the advent of name brand tools being made overseas, why buy the name?

Ric, thanks for the heads up on the oil cooler. I'm going to clean the old one up and see if I can get it into a flat rate box to send to Andy.

It's not just mechanics. I feel bad for young people starting out today. Buy a car with 72 payments and then try to save up a down payment for a house. My family lived on what I made and if Liane took a part-time job all the money she made went to a luxury we couldn't afford. She learned pretty quick to live without all those luxuries. "Day old bread tastes the same as fresh!" "That's not sour, it's buttermilk so drink up!" My oldest grandson and his wife bought a house but it takes both their incomes to pay the mortgage and the down payment was a gift from her grandmother.

Being a child of the 1950s, cool cars for me had the badging removed. The chrome Vs and the Bel Air, along with the hood ornament and trunk handle were tossed. First thing I did with my brand new 1968 GTO was remove the dealer plaque from the deck lid (most of the badges were decals). I don't recall anyone putting a Cadillac emblem on their Chevy so I don't understand the appeal of a Snap-On badge on a US General tool chest.

Damn whippersnappers...

 

[HOTFR8]

I should have added the smaller unit is great for things like mobile phones or even running things like a GPS to test etc.

 

[bj383ss]

Bob your bump stop pictured reminded of a similar fate for my Camaro. I put new bilstein shocks on and when I did the back there was no bump stop left on one side. And the fun part was they were a discontinued part but I found a lone guy on the interweb selling a direct fit polyurethane ones with aluminum spacers and hardware.

DSCN8642 by bjohnson388, on Flickr

DSCN8646 by bjohnson388, on Flickr

I was eating dinner while reading your updates. Good thing I drink last!

Bret

 

[oldironfarmer]

I had to read your yacht club story three times to digest it. It wasn't fun at the time, I'm sure, but what an adventure!

 

[rharman]

< snip >

< /snip >

I've had the Zyliss vise for probably 30 years new in the box. Bought it at either the county fair or the (used to be big) local home show.

Maybe used it twice. Have every accessory for it too. Sure seems like it should come in more handy than it does.

 

[Craptain]

Bob, I am a little familiar with the yacht clubs you mentioned. Apart from driving a ship up and down the Hudson river, I have friends from the area. Roger used to own a hardware store up there somewhere. He was also an ice boat racer and dealer for Sunfish sail boats. As for Tarrytown, it was just a place I delivered a boat to. Though I did pass by there regularly on the ship. I am starting to wonder who we might know in common.

Sent from my SM-G930T using Tapatalk

 

[Bob Heine]

I should have added the smaller unit is great for things like mobile phones or even running things like a GPS to test etc.

Simon, thank you, I should have known better. My "smartass" phone tells me when I've plugged it in to a low power source, like some of the USB ports on the computer.

Bob your bump stop pictured reminded of a similar fate for my Camaro. I put new bilstein shocks on and when I did the back there was no bump stop left on one side. And the fun part was they were a discontinued part but I found a lone guy on the interweb selling a direct fit polyurethane ones with aluminum spacers and hardware.

I was eating dinner while reading your updates. Good thing I drink last!

Bret

Bret, it's frustrating to own a car that isn't a valuable antique but you like it anyway. I could build a 1972 Corvette from a catalog but I can't find the most ordinary parts for my 1987 Corvette. Oh ****! That car turned 30 the year before last (late '86 build).

I had to read your yacht club story three times to digest it. It wasn't fun at the time, I'm sure, but what an adventure!

Andy, it's amazing how a night's sleep can change your attitude. I went to bed dreading the 70-mile drive home with the trailer tilted and the boat loaded with camping gear. The next morning Liane said "Why don't you launch the boat and I'll drive the empty trailer home." The phone book in the motel only listed a few nearby boat facilities. First two couldn't help but the third said to come on down. To this day my son remembers that day. The river was like glass with no traffic so I opened it up. Liane was not a fan of my "I wonder how fast this thing will go?" but my 10-year-old son was.

I've had the Zyliss vise for probably 30 years new in the box. Bought it at either the county fair or the (used to be big) local home show.

Maybe used it twice. Have every accessory for it too. Sure seems like it should come in more handy than it does.

Rharman, time will tell if it's useful or a decoration. I can't remember the last time I needed to clamp a long piece of wood like a broomstick but this may be good for that. I need to try to use it at least enough so I remember I have it (for my next broomstick project).

Bob, I am a little familiar with the yacht clubs you mentioned. Apart from driving a ship up and down the Hudson river, I have friends from the area. Roger used to own a hardware store up there somewhere. He was also an ice boat racer and dealer for Sunfish sail boats. As for Tarrytown, it was just a place I delivered a boat to. Though I did pass by there regularly on the ship. I am starting to wonder who we might know in common.

Sent from my SM-G930T using Tapatalk

Andrew, I joined the NHYC in 1971, the year I bought my first boat. We joined mostly because it was one mile from our house (we could almost see it from our back yard). We moved to Florida in 1975 so we weren't members for that long. At the time I joined I was 26 and one of the youngest members. After 43 years, a lot has changed. You and I probably know a lot of places on the river but any person I would know is probably real old or real dead.

White's marina is still there in New Hamburg and I used to buy parts from them. Still the same family but it's either the grandson or great grandson running it now.

 

[Bob Heine]

I have to thank Mike (Zmotorsports) for pointing out a flaw in most welders. I knew the ground clamps on all three of my welders were junk but I didn't know which one was good. Mike posted a Tweco clamp so I ordered one. My only worry was the giant strain relief ring on the clamp. Then I remembered I have a great hydraulic crimper and sure enough, it did the job perfectly.

I only bought one clamp to be sure it would work. None of my welders are mainstream -- one is a Harbor Freight wire feed (MIG) welder set up for plain steel. It's my cheapest machine which means it had the weakest ground clamp (it's the sheet metal one on the right in the photo above).

I know I should have bought a Lincoln or Miller but I didn't know if I could actually weld something. Turns out it works just fine. This is another one of those tools I don't make money from and I don't do that much welding. It's either a cheap welder or no welder and I chose cheap. Many people suggested shopping for a used welder but the only ones for sale near me were asking near new prices (five times the price of that HF).

 

[Bob Heine]

We drove up to one of the outlaws homes two Sundays ago. They live in Loxahatchee on an unpaved road. It was raining when we left so the Cadillac got some dirt on it. It was only a hundred mile round trip but the brake dust from the calipers is terrible, especially on the front. I decided to wash the car today while it was still below 90. It takes me 20 minutes to clean the wheels when they look like this.

A few different brushes, some wheel and tire cleaner and a pressure washer setup later and I have the first wheel clean.

I remembered I had a new bottle of wheel cleaner from Great Britain (Guster's recommendation as I recall). When I went to get it, the spray bottle was stuck to the shelf and started leaking when I pulled it free. Apparently the bottle was cracked in transit and enough seeped out to stick the bottle down and seal the leak.

I thought I had lost a lot of the cleaner but I couldn't get the top off to pour it out. I squeezed it out through the crack into another spray bottle and transferred the labels to the new bottle. It looks like I saved most of the 500ml.

After cleaning up the mess on the shelf I finished the wheels and washed the car. By the time I was done it was past noon and I heard that little Englishman in the back of my head say: "You're a mad dog to be out in this heat!" (he knows I'm not an Englishman).

I put the Cadillac back in the garage, put all the car wash stuff away, closed the doors and turned on the A/C. It was only 88*F in the shade of the garage but I waited a couple of hours for the garage to cool down to 80*F. It takes a while to cool the garage when you bring in a big steel machine with surface temperatures above 140*F.

 

[cbacres]

Bob, the Tweco is a good clamp, it'll serve you well. What I like about them is the set screw clamp for the lead. So of the others require a lug eye to bolt to the clamp.
I like your hydraulic crimper, must be nice to distort stuff without endangering your fingers with a hammer.

So, do you keep the old clamps stashed away somewhere or toss them?


Edit: disregard the last part about the crimper, my bran caught up with my fingers.

 

[Bob Heine]

Bob, the Tweco is a good clamp, it'll serve you well. What I like about them is the set screw clamp for the lead. So of the others require a lug eye to bolt to the clamp.
I like your hydraulic crimper, must be nice to distort stuff without endangering your fingers with a hammer.

So, do you keep the old clamps stashed away somewhere or toss them?


Edit: disregard the last part about the crimper, my bran caught up with my fingers.

Craig, I had to go out in the garage to move the old clamp from the welder cart to the garbage can. I'm sure I'll regret it in a couple of weeks but I have to stop saving stuff I don't need. I have a box full of old thermostats and radiator caps that I need to throw away. If only I could find it's hiding place.

 

[HOTFR8]

Simon, thank you, I should have known better. My "smartass" phone tells me when I've plugged it in to a low power source, like some of the USB ports on the computer.

I would never try to run anything to large on one of those small power supply units. I know I can charge a couple of phones at the same time. Any thing that draws heavily like the mini compressor would be asking to much. I find mine great to run a USB adapter as I do not have a USB power point.

Mind you I also have a Go Puck. It has USB.

The power pack adapter is great to charge that via a USB adapter.

 

[zmotorsports]

Great work as usual Bob. I like checking in to see what you're up to and you never disappoint.

 

[Bob Heine]

I would never try to run anything to large on one of those small power supply units. I know I can charge a couple of phones at the same time. Any thing that draws heavily like the mini compressor would be asking to much. I find mine great to run a USB adapter as I do not have a USB power point.

Mind you I also have a Go Puck. It has USB.

The power pack adapter is great to charge that via a USB adapter.

Simon, I have a USB port and cigarette lighter power point in the Cadillac's center console. The power point keeps the iPad charged so 1,400 oldies play randomly with no commercial interruptions through the audio system. The USB port charges and connects the smartphone to the hands-free system in the car. The '87 Corvette and PT Cruiser have the iPods connected to their audio systems directly (no USB ports in those cars). For the phone, I keep a spare battery in the glove box in both cars so there's always a way for me to get the phone working again. I know my personal memory's reliability and that GO Puck would be in "the other car" or "on the workbench" hooked up to the charger whenever I needed it.

They do have a great name for that brick but it seems like half a thought: GO Puck [yourself?].

Great work as usual Bob. I like checking in to see what you're up to and you never disappoint.

Mike, your threads are an inspiration. I don't expect to match your quality but you do help me improve mine. Thanks for stopping by and encouraging me.

 

[Bob Heine]

I paid $88 to have the house A/C serviced, after the condensate drain line backed up. They came out and did the service and used a wet/dry vacuum to clear the drain. Three days later the system shut off again and I knew it was the drain. The crew that built the house apparently had lots of 90-degree bends and they used them to line up the condensate drain.

I couldn't take photos of the contents of that junction-- not picking up the camera with my hand covered with slime. I did get a drain snake up the vertical pipe. The line was 99% blocked with a special kind of snot I hadn't seen since my last eel-fishing expedition. The snake was not my most brilliant solution because it pushed the snot up to that 90-degree fitting that goes into the wall. Now it's 100% blocked and no water is dripping out of the pipe.

Knowing it would get hot out, I started this project early in the morning. Unfortunately that door faces Southeast and heats up quickly after dawn. I went in the attic and poured a cup of bleach and cleaner with bleach into the drain line. Probably the first time it has ever been cooler in the attic than it was where I was working. It took about 5 minutes for the cleaner and bleach to dissolve the plug I created. The drain was working great but created a puddle on the concrete pad.

I resumed work on the project after noon. The air was hotter but that corner was cooler so I glued some 45-degree fittings at the wall and a Tee at the other end.

The Tee carries the condensate underground ten feet from the garage wall where it keeps two gardenia bushes watered. Subterranean termites need a constant water supply to build their tunnels and destroy the wood in a wall so having that drain dump right next to the garage was a disaster. The other side of the Tee has a temporary elbow and threaded plug. I'll replace it with a 3/4" glue joint-to-thread adapter and a 3/4" PVC plug next time I get to Home Depot. That way I can remove the plug and snake out the line up to the wall. With another adapter in the attic I can flush the line every winter with chlorine.

Looks like I need to oil the hinges and paint the concrete pad.

 

[oldironfarmer]

Great repair! I really think chlorine once per year will keep it clear, unless you've been putting chlorine in it every year.

I have a similar deal but mine goes through the fence into the pasture, into a small ditch. The cattle stomp it closed every couple of years. Just long enough it panics me when the house is getting hot until I remember to drain the drain drain.

 

[1/2 Cup]

Bob well done on the repair.

We have one of our splits that does exactly that and i will take Andy's tip with the chlorine yearly.

 

[HOTFR8]

Simon, I have a USB port and cigarette lighter power point in the Cadillac's center console. The power point keeps the iPad charged so 1,400 oldies play randomly with no commercial interruptions through the audio system. The USB port charges and connects the smartphone to the hands-free system in the car. The '87 Corvette and PT Cruiser have the iPods connected to their audio systems directly (no USB ports in those cars). For the phone, I keep a spare battery in the glove box in both cars so there's always a way for me to get the phone working again. I know my personal memory's reliability and that GO Puck would be in "the other car" or "on the workbench" hooked up to the charger whenever I needed it.

They do have a great name for that brick but it seems like half a thought: GO Puck [yourself?].

I may have to Go Puck the mobile phone today So it is fully charged.

 

[xtremek]

Sounds like it's too hot to even breath, down there.

 

[Bob Heine]

Great repair! I really think chlorine once per year will keep it clear, unless you've been putting chlorine in it every year.

I have a similar deal but mine goes through the fence into the pasture, into a small ditch. The cattle stomp it closed every couple of years. Just long enough it panics me when the house is getting hot until I remember to drain the drain drain.

Andy, I replaced the A/C system in 2000 but it was constantly needing service. I signed up for a contract to have the system serviced twice a year. There was a pinhole leak in the low pressure line that wasn't discovered until 2007. I started checking the work done by the service techs and realized they were opening a panel and spraying stuff inside the air handler, vacuuming leaves out of the compressor cabinet and charging me $300 a year (one tech mentioned blowing out the drain line in those years). I can do that kind of service for free so I cancelled the service contract around 2010. Replaced the system in 2016 and I'm certain the guys who installed it didn't clean out the drain line. I'm going to add chlorine annually, which will be a lot more often than the service techs did it.

Bob well done on the repair.

We have one of our splits that does exactly that and i will take Andy's tip with the chlorine yearly.

Steve, the biggest help on my drain line is to change the air filter in the house. It doesn't take a lot of dust to turn the slime buildup into mud buildup.

I may have to Go Puck the mobile phone today So it is fully charged.

Simon, I would like to GO Puck my phone every day.

Sounds like it's too hot to even breath, down there.

Kirk, it's always hot down here but this year it's cooler than many parts of the country. The temperature map for tomorrow shows Western Michigan getting hotter than Florida. Drives is just getting over a long stretch of 90+ temperatures and that 100+ weather in the Dakotas is headed your way.

My Scandinavian carcass starts sweating as soon as it gets above freezing and the older I get the slower I go in hot weather. I'm thinking of putting a chair in the shade half way between the garage and shop. Taking a break at the 50-foot mark is looking better every day.

 

[cbacres]

You could always install a electric operated ball valve in the attic, a tee just after that and a air line to the tee, flip a switch turn the air on and have the outlet pointed up and out to the road to see if you can get aplug of snot landing on a car.

Just a thought to keep you out of that hot attic.

 

[Bob Heine]

You could always install a electric operated ball valve in the attic, a tee just after that and a air line to the tee, flip a switch turn the air on and have the outlet pointed up and out to the road to see if you can get aplug of snot landing on a car.

Just a thought to keep you out of that hot attic.

Craig, that's a great idea! Well, maybe not the snot landing on one of my cars.

I'm not squeamish but that stuff in the line was nasty. I didn't touch the end of the snake with my bare hand to clean it off, something I had no problem doing after I've cleaned out sewer lines with the same snake.

 

[driftpin]

Bob, my friend in Wellington FL (that's Palm Beach Co. by the Polo Club, for all you other folks) uses tablets in the AC air handler tray to keep down the green crud. I use my pancake air compressor and a nozzle into the drain line to blow it out. Last time the system shut-off I did the 'blow,' and an actual lizard came shooting-out the drain line. First time that happened, it usually looks like Mrs. Swamp Thing's used tampax as a several-inch glob of green slime. I guess the little critter crawled up in there and got stuck. He was deceased.

Whatever size is your pvc pipe from the air handler drain, I suggest installing a union that you can unscrew below the drain line feed from the air handler tray. Then it's easy to use an air compressor gun to blow-down the pvc tube, and watch the slug of slime shoot-out into the yard. I always ask my wife to watch the launch, to see how-big it is. Then you hand-tighten the union, and you're good for another 6 months. Is your air handler in the attic?

About 5 years ago I got a Bryant to replace whatever it was before, the Bryant had a SEER of 19.5 I think, the house isn't real-big, maybe 1600 sq ft under air. My old system was from the 1980's and it was struggling to keep the house cool in the dog days of August. My electric bills were nearly $300, and after I put in the Bryant, my bills dropped for the same month, August, to $130! I got a couple rebates so even though the initial cost was higher, the rebates made it not-much-more expensive than a run of the mill SEER of 16. My July 2018 bill was $94, and the house is cool, I usually set the thermostat for 76 F.

I did notice that the air handler coil was badly-covered with whatever collects on them when the old system was removed, I think if I had that removed the crud on the coils then it would have worked better, but that would just keep me paying more for electricity. I have a couple pics to remind me to change the filters monthly.

 

[oldironfarmer]

Craig, that's a great idea! Well, maybe not the snot landing on one of my cars.

I think he was suggesting launching it over the fence and into the street with the potential upside of landing unexpectedly on a passing car. Hmmm...

 

[cbacres]

I think he was suggesting launching it over the fence and into the street with the potential upside of landing unexpectedly on a passing car. Hmmm...

Yes,that was what I meant. In Florida, the occupants of the car would just assume it came from a seagull that, well ate something that didn't agree with them.

 

[bcoke]

Bob I am a long time lurker on your site and enjoy your talent,humor, and overall attitude, I am a former Long Islander [ny] and retired to Vermont [could not take those Fla. heat/humidity seasons.What I would like to know is how did you wire up the iPod to play directly in those vechiles that were not ipod friendly????? Any pix would be great ! thank you bobbycoke

 

[bolensboneyard]

Chlorine will do the job and a vacuum does work well for the drain. Oh the pains of home ownership!

 

[jimreed2160]

Oh the pains of home ownership!

Tell me about it. Sometimes I feel like a full time handyman. Of course, the benefit is new tools. If I take on a job myself instead of hiring it out, the savings are guilt free tool money.

 

[Bob Heine]

Bob, my friend in Wellington FL (that's Palm Beach Co. by the Polo Club, for all you other folks) uses tablets in the AC air handler tray to keep down the green crud. I use my pancake air compressor and a nozzle into the drain line to blow it out. Last time the system shut-off I did the 'blow,' and an actual lizard came shooting-out the drain line. First time that happened, it usually looks like Mrs. Swamp Thing's used tampax as a several-inch glob of green slime. I guess the little critter crawled up in there and got stuck. He was deceased.

Whatever size is your pvc pipe from the air handler drain, I suggest installing a union that you can unscrew below the drain line feed from the air handler tray. Then it's easy to use an air compressor gun to blow-down the pvc tube, and watch the slug of slime shoot-out into the yard. I always ask my wife to watch the launch, to see how-big it is. Then you hand-tighten the union, and you're good for another 6 months. Is your air handler in the attic?

About 5 years ago I got a Bryant to replace whatever it was before, the Bryant had a SEER of 19.5 I think, the house isn't real-big, maybe 1600 sq ft under air. My old system was from the 1980's and it was struggling to keep the house cool in the dog days of August. My electric bills were nearly $300, and after I put in the Bryant, my bills dropped for the same month, August, to $130! I got a couple rebates so even though the initial cost was higher, the rebates made it not-much-more expensive than a run of the mill SEER of 16. My July 2018 bill was $94, and the house is cool, I usually set the thermostat for 76 F.

I did notice that the air handler coil was badly-covered with whatever collects on them when the old system was removed, I think if I had that removed the crud on the coils then it would have worked better, but that would just keep me paying more for electricity. I have a couple pics to remind me to change the filters monthly.

Hi Philip! Good to hear from you again. The service tech that mentioned cleaning out the line said he put those tablets in the base of the air handler. In our first Florida house we never had slime buildup but the air handler was in the garage. This (our second) house the air handler is in the attic and the condensate line is three or four times longer. I have a 60-gallon air compressor in the garage with a couple of hose reels so it's easy to drag a line into the attic.

Little by little I'm modifying the 3/4" condensate line to make it a bit more streamlined. The drain line in the attic had four 90-degree elbows to form a trap a foot from the air handler. I replaced the trap with two 45-degree elbows and the line has a small section of clear vinyl hose so you can see the water and possibly slime buildup (it turns green but the slime never builds up in the attic).

I just ordered a 3/4" ball valve (https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000BQSUWI/?tag=atomicindus08-20) that will go to the left of the Tee. Shutting the valve will prevent air from blowing back into the air handler so all the force will go down the drain line. I have a 3/8" quick connect plug that will be attached to the top of that Tee with an adapter (also on order).

When not being used, I'll have one of those rubber caps seal it off. The easier I make it, the more likely I'll blow the line out before the A-C shuts off.

When our system failed too many times to count in 2000, I replaced it with a high-efficiency Carrier system for $5,500. The air handler was too big to fit through the attic opening so they took it apart and re-assembled it in place. Then they discovered it was the wrong air handler (it used a different Freon) so they brazed new valves and sensor to make it work. It was supposed to be a super high SEER unit (the brochure said UP TO 19) but my electric bill stayed in the $300 range. The $3,600 Ruud system that replaced it is a 16 SEER unit and our bills dropped by $75 a month. I suspect running window A/C units in the garage and workshop every day is helping to keep my bills over $200 in the summer. Two or three loads of laundry in the dryer every day is also helping.

I bought into the high efficiency stuff when I was younger but now I make decisions based on different criteria. I should be driving a hybrid or diesel but I choose gas-guzzling, tire shredding beasts that make me smile. I guess my bottom line is that I save money by driving less, going out less and turning down "free" stuff more. Free stuff that requires re-wiring the house isn't free. Free stuff that requires expensive accessories isn't free. Free stuff that needs to be restored isn't free.